pharmaceuticals Article Screening of Bacterial Quorum Sensing Inhibitors in a Vibrio fischeri LuxR-Based Synthetic Fluorescent E. coli Biosensor Xiaofei Qin 1,2, Celina Vila-Sanjurjo 2,3, Ratna Singh 4, Bodo Philipp 5 and Francisco M. Goycoolea 2,6,* 1 Department of Bioengineering, Zhuhai Campus of Zunyi Medical University, Zhuhai 519041, China;
[email protected] 2 Laboratory of Nanobiotechnology, Institute of Plant Biology and Biotechnology, University of Münster, Schlossplatz 8, D-48143 Münster, Germany;
[email protected] 3 Department of Pharmacology, Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Technology, University of Santiago de Compostela, Campus Vida, s/n, 15782 Santiago de Compostela, Spain 4 Laboratory of Molecular Phytopathology and Renewable Resources, Institute of Plant Biology and Biotechnology, University of Münster, Schlossplatz 8, D-48143 Münster, Germany;
[email protected] 5 Institute of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology, University of Münster, Corrensstraße 3, D-48149 Münster, Germany;
[email protected] 6 School of Food Science and Nutrition, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK * Correspondence:
[email protected]; Tel.: +44-1133-431412 Received: 13 August 2020; Accepted: 18 September 2020; Published: 22 September 2020 Abstract: A library of 23 pure compounds of varying structural and chemical characteristics was screened for their quorum sensing (QS) inhibition activity using a synthetic fluorescent Escherichia coli biosensor that incorporates a modified version of lux regulon of Vibrio fischeri. Four such compounds exhibited QS inhibition activity without compromising bacterial growth, namely, phenazine carboxylic acid (PCA), 2-heptyl-3-hydroxy-4-quinolone (PQS), 1H-2-methyl-4-quinolone (MOQ) and genipin. When applied at 50 µM, these compounds reduced the QS response of the biosensor to 33.7% 2.6%, ± 43.1% 2.7%, 62.2% 6.3% and 43.3% 1.2%, respectively.